Kate joins Ronnie Wood at gala dinner for addiction charity

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The Duchess of Cambridge rubbed shoulders with Ronnie Wood at an event to mark Addiction Awareness Week.

The event was hosted by charity Action on Addiction – of which Kate is patron – and was held at the Spring restaurant at London’s Somerset House.

Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Ahead of the gala dinner on Wednesday evening, Kate met with clients of Action on Addiction helping to prepare and serve the evening meal under Spring’s Michelin-star winning chef Skye Gyngell.

The duchess met with Jay Otty, who has been sober for nine years after participating in the charity’s self-help and addiction recovery programme, and now works as front of house staff at The Brink – a dry bar in Liverpool.

Action on Addiction was one Kate’s earliest patronages and she said her experiences with the charity have helped inform her wider work in mental health, particularly the mental health and wellbeing of children.

The duchess described Action on Addiction as “the catalyst” for her interest in early childhood development.

In a speech, she said: “Having met so many people who’ve suffered from addiction, I have seen over and over again that, sadly, the root causes can so often be traced right back to the very earliest years of someone’s life.”